Editing Argyropelecus

{{Short description|Genus of deep sea hatchetfishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Silver hatchetfishes
| fossil_range =[[Chattian]] to Present<br/>{{fossilrange|27.82|0}}
| image =Argyropelecus lychnus SI.jpg
| image2= Argyropelecus lychnus X-ray.jpg
| image2_caption = ''[[Argyropelecus lychnus]]'', conventional and X-ray images
| taxon = Argyropelecus
| authority = [[Anastasio Cocco|Cocco]], 1829
| diversity_link = #Species
| diversity = 7 species
}}

'''''Argyropelecus''''' is an [[ocean]]ic  [[Actinopterygii|ray-finned fish]] [[genus]] in the [[deep sea hatchetfish]] [[family (biology)|family]] [[Sternoptychidae]]. A collective name is '''"[[Marine hatchetfish|silver hatchetfishes]]"''', but this can also refer to a [[species]] of the [[freshwater hatchetfish]]es which are not particularly closely related to this. The large [[pupil]]s of these marine hatchetfishes enable them to see dim objects in the [[deep sea]], where light barely penetrates.

== Species ==
There are currently seven recognized extant species in this genus:<ref>{{FishBase genus | genus = Argyropelecus| month = February | year = 2012}}</ref>
* ''[[Argyropelecus aculeatus]]'' <small>[[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1850</small> (lovely hatchetfish, Atlantic silver hatchetfish)
* ''[[Argyropelecus affinis]]'' <small>[[Samuel Garman|Garman]], 1899</small> (Pacific hatchetfish)
* ''[[Argyropelecus gigas]]'' <small>[[John Roxborough Norman|Norman]], 1930</small> (giant hatchetfish, greater silver hatchetfish)
* ''[[Argyropelecus hemigymnus]]'' <small>[[Anastasio Cocco|Cocco]], 1829</small> (half-naked hatchetfish, short silver hatchetfish, spurred hatchetfish)
* ''[[Argyropelecus lychnus]]'' <small>[[Samuel Garman|Garman]], 1899</small> (tropical hatchetfish)
* ''[[Argyropelecus olfersii]]'' <small>([[Georges Cuvier|G. Cuvier]], 1829)</small>
* ''[[Argyropelecus sladeni]]'' <small>[[Charles Tate Regan|Regan]], 1908</small> (Sladen's hatchetfish, silvery hatchetfish)
[[File:Argyropelecus prisca 34maf olig romania.jpg|left|thumb|''[[Argyropelecus prisca|A. prisca]]'', a [[fossil]] species from the [[Oligocene]] of [[Romania]]]]
The earliest unequivocal fossils of ''Argyropelecus'' date from the start of the [[Chattian]] stage of the Late [[Oligocene]]<ref name=carnevale>Carnevale, Giorgio. "Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of Argyropelecus logearti (Teleostei: Stomiiformes: Sternoptychidae), with a brief review of fossil Argyropelecus." Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research In Paleontology and Stratigraphy) 109.1 (2003).</ref>  The original assessment of Eocene-aged otoliths from Austria assigned to this genus is now questioned.<ref name=carnevale />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Argyropelecus}}
* [http://www.gma.org/fogm/Argyropelecus_aculeatus.htm Information about Argyropelecus aculeatus]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3769118}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sternoptychidae]]
[[Category:Extant Chattian first appearances]]
[[Category:Marine fish genera]]
[[Category:Ray-finned fish genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Anastasio Cocco]]


{{Stomiiformes-stub}}